Potpourri

By Kathryn Sojka-Fairchild

In Potpourri, you’ll find a thoughtful collection of poems and short essays that take you on a journey from the personal to the divine of a woman who is seeking truth and her place through the circumstances of life. Thought-provoking and funny, her point of view on a variety of areas of life may bring you to a new appreciation, new thoughts, and a new outlook on life. A wide-ranging contemplation of a surprising variety of topics include a look at law enforcement from the viewpoint of a wife and a moving look at aging. Her working out of a spiritual life will bring you a fresh perspective. Humor jumps out at you in unexpected places. A quiet joy weaves throughout. You’ll relate to the questioning of things from gossip to unicorns and may find your feelings and struggles put into words. At times, you’ll say, “Yes! That’s how I feel.” Throughout you’ll find a connection and feel you’re with an old friend.

As usual, she ends her book with short, inspirational, and funny words of wisdom in her last chapter titled “ Kathryn’s Kwips and Kwotes.” Reading them is a great way to start your day or in those few quiet moments when you need a lift.

This is a great book to take along when you’re waiting for the kids at soccer practice or at the doctor’s office.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973640387

Kathryn Sojka-Fairchild

Kathryn Fairchild lives in California with her extended family. This is Kathryn’s fourth book. They have all been sold for charity.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Kathryn Sojka-Fairchild.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4039-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4037-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4038-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911248

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/31/2019

CONTENTS

THIS ’N THAT

It’s My Life; So What?

The Old-Time Alcohol Blues

A Young Woman

Dichotomy

Nature Noir

August

Courtesy Is Just A Nice Way To Get Along

The Owl

A Different Dimension

The Media Has The Megaphone

Tradition

Newspapers

God

Me, Important?

THIRTY- THREE YEARS

Always A King

Righteous Anger

He Was; He Did

Blood On The Stones

Light

THE WAY I SEE IT

Nine Eleven

Tred Lightly

If

Gossip

Mythical Musings

In Marriage……………

Away From You

Human Race

The Times They Are A’changing

The Many Ways Of Love

Eternal

Murder Is Against State And Federal Law So What’s The Problem?

ME, MYSELF AND I

Autobiography

There Was A Time When I Was The Mother Of Three Teenagers!

Realization

Yearning

Angel On My Shoulder

The Only Way

Way Of The Pilgrim

Sit’n And Rock’n

But I Do Have A Sense Of Humor

Personal Guidelines

Boring!

How Can I Not Be Joyful?

It’s Profound

It Is Sufficient

At Least, I Don’t Think I Am

Getting Older

Reality

MY FAVORITES

What Is More Beautiful Than This?

In The Beginning

All That You Are And All That You Want To Be

Among Them …

Introspection Interrupted By Reality

Unfulfilled

Only Through You

Wonder If They Have A Welcome Wagon

Patterns

Putting In The Stitches That Hold Me Together

No Love, No Life

MY TWILIGHT

Swiftly Moves The Years

Finish

Last Hours: Day Is Drawing Nigh

"Till We Meet Again

Your Purpose Or Standing At The Gates

Oh, So Important!

HE AND I

Eureka!*

Please

Set Apart

Communion

My Heart, My Soul

Come To Me

Your Many Faces

Seemingly Alone

My New Life

Communion, The Eucharist

Love Letter To Jesus

I Get A Glimpse

I Come To You

Your Mercy

I Want To Grow!

Agape Love

US

Gift For A Friend

Moments

Together

Fool Rush In Where Angels Fear To Tred

ADOPTION

Heartbreak

A Gift Of Love

Happy Little Boy

Goodbye Mom

THE LAW

The Law

Civilian Soldier

Cowboys In Squad Cars

In Service

Under Their Wings

The Shuffling Beat Of The Prisoner’s Feet

Cops

Wounded But Unseen

SPIRITUAL LIFE

We Are Yours

Holy Spirit

Lord, Holy Spirit, Father God

Direction

Who, What, Where

Make Room!

Jesus Is The Shepherd, We Are The Sheep

Learn Or Burn

Relationship

Don’t You Know?

Sanctuary

Come To Me

Expand Your Vocabulary, Expand Your Life

Wings Of The Mind … Opening Up To Possibilities

TRAVEL

New England In The Fall

The Troubles

Palm Springs

Utah

Sylvan Lake-Sylvan Pass

Grand Canyon

Michigan Morning

Tiburon

Oregon

Alaska

THANKFUL

Prayer Of Thanksgiving

Thankful?

FORGIVENESS

Forgive, All You Have To Lose Is Your Chains.

Elucidate And Meditate

Divine Justice

Lord, I Am Broken

I’VE BEEN THINKING

When Did You Know?

Only With You

Coming To Understand The Holy Spirit

A God So In Love With Us

Silence

Labeling People

Light

Communing With God

Holy Is His Name

LET’S TALK

Kathryn’s Kwips And Kwotes

The proceeds of the book will go to charity

This book is dedicated with great joy to

Lisa, Laura and Daniela Sojka,

my daughters-in-law.

I feel that my sons

by their marriages

chose my daughters for me.

Good Job Guys!

I admire and love them so much.

Your taste in women is unsurpassed.*

*(You inherited your amazing taste in women from your Dad!)

Until you can put your feelings

into words, give them form,

they’re like smoke, swirling all around.

You can’t grab them, hold onto them

and make them something of substance.

It’s also a way to reach inside

and find out what’s in there.

And, so I write and write and write.

Now, about my poetry,

English teachers and others,

both literate and literary

will, no doubt,

kneel before the gods of iambic pentameter

………………… sobbing! ……………………

The words come just the way

They are inside me,

without refinement or proper form.

So,yes I understand

That it’s not perfected …

it just IS.

Sometimes a working out of something.

Sometimes taking a surprising twist or turn

even to me.

I’m compelled to write, so I’m glad I enjoy it.

The gratifying surprise

was that others enjoyed what I wrote.

…………… I had many kinds

of sounds ringing in my ears and

they sometimes asked to get on paper.

THOMAS MERTON

(The Seven Story Mountain)

THIS

’N

THAT

BY- KATHRYN SOJKA-FAIRCHILD

IT’S MY LIFE; SO WHAT?

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Power was

in his hands, you see.

He thought he was the

pinnacle of what to be.

Arrogance crept in

as a daily thought.

And if he should sin—

so what? So what?

Time from his family

he did cut:

ignored his children.

So what? So what?

Cheated on his taxes.

(He thinks everybody does!)

His way was the only way—

a brain filled with fuzz.

Alas, alack,

he got old.

His only comfort

was his gold.

Life was over,

and he went to hell.

So what? So what?

There’s no more to tell.

As I was going through some things, I found the words to a song I wrote after a girlfriend dared me. She said that I could not write about being addicted to alcohol since I don’t drink. Here it is: